I'd like to help... now what??

We see many potential volunteers in the office here. Sometimes people have a certain area in mind that they want to help with, and other times the conversation with the volunteer goes something like this... "Put me wherever I am most needed."

We love this attitude, but sometimes it's hard for us to let you know what we need most, because our needs are so great! We want to hear what you can do for the kids. Are you a math whiz? Are you a concert pianist? Are you a certified counselor? Do you have a knack for marketing?

All of these things are needs and desires for the program. But our needs are exhaustive, and we can match your talents with our desires.

But specifically, the two areas that we direct most of our volunteers to are this: tutoring and office help.

So what can you expect for each opportunity?

Tutors are asked to commit to an hour a week for a semester. Some decide to stay longer, some cannot for personal reasons. We will pair you with one student, and you will monitor their progress over the semester and help them where needed. The requirements for this are 18 and over, background check clearance, a love of kids, and a willingness to commit for the desired time. Note: Ability to remember high school math not required, but if you can please let us know. One of the top comments we get during tutor interviews is, "I'm horrible at math!" Keep in mind that we assign tutors by highest need to lowest, and since we do not have a tutor for every child at this point, most tutors are working with children on remedial math and reading.

Office assistants will help with one or all of three offices: the BC main office (for the afterschool program), the development office, or the accounting office. We look for people to serve in this area who have a willingness to jump in and do it all. Volunteers in this area are much needed to help keep our staff costs down and our staff sanity up. Volunteers in the past have done everything from stuffing envelopes, answering phones, scanning in checks, and many other things. Due to the sensitivity and nature of the work being done, we do require a background check and for those volunteers to agree to confidentiality.

But what else do our volunteers do?

• Resume writing assistance
• Piano lessons
• Art classes
• Holiday parties for the kids
• Landscaping/outdoor work
• Event planning
• Much, much more!

If you're interested in volunteering with us, please call 704-371-7404.